I was watching Psych a little while back when I came across an episode that involved counterfeit $100 bills. Over the course of the show, they mentioned microprinting, which got me curious. So I grabbed my macro lens and a $100 bill (yup, I’m one of those weird people who just happened to have a large bill laying around); here’s what I found (I marked each of the areas with an arrow on the bill below):

And a close-up of the arrow areas (click on any of these pictures to make them bigger/easier to see)…

The 100 is full of little ‘USA100’s:

Text on Benjamin’s lapel:

Then I got to wondering about what I could find hidden on other bills, so I grabbed a $50:

Along the edge of the bill are little FIFTYs:

That blank space between the seal and Grant’s portrait contains a star full of ‘USA50’s:

And more text along Grant’s lapel as well:

I also love how the background isn’t a solid color, like it appears at first glace, but is actually a series of geometric red, blue and yellow lines!

I also explored the $20, $10 and $5 bills, which I’ll share a little bit later. In the meantime, what’s your favorite macro subject? What sorts of things have you discovered with your camera that you couldn’t see with the naked eye?